"The Political Farce of 1876," 1877

Description

This political cartoon was created after the electoral commission awarded Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes all 19 disputed electoral votes, and in turn, the presidency. This lithograph criticized the four members of the Louisiana election board and the eight Republicans on the congressional election commission for acting contrary to what the artist believed was the will of the people. Hayes earned nearly 300,000 less popular votes than Samuel J. Tilden, the Democratic nominee. In the center of the illustration, there are busts of each of the eight Republican members of the congressional election commission encircling the four Louisiana election board members. Framing the image are four boxed quotes, one in each corner, regarding election fraud. The quote in the top left was attributed to the seven Democrats on the congressional electoral commission, while the one in the bottom left was attributed to the eight Republicans. In the bottom left, there is a quote by Charles Francis Adams. Adams served as minister to Great Britain between 1861 and 1868, but angered the Republican Party by supporting Tilden during the election of 1876 and the electoral college controversy that followed.